Individuals often carry firearms and ammunition on their persons to provide ready access to a loaded firearm for a variety of reasons such as competition, personal protection or professional requirements (e.g. law enforcement, security services, military). Firearms, and in particular handguns, are typically carried within a holster worn by the individual that define a pouch for receiving and having a handle strap or other engagement mechanism for retaining the firearm until the firearm is removed from the holster by the individual. Similarly, spare ammunition for the firearm is typically carried within magazine pouches worn by the individual's clothing or attached to equipment carried by the individual. Ammunition for rifles, pistols and certain shotguns are typically pre-loaded into detachable box magazines for efficiently carrying a plurality of cartridges as well as for efficiently loading multiple cartridges into the firearm at a time. Box magazines generally comprise a metal or rigid polymer box for receiving the cartridges and a spring assembly for sequentially positioning the cartridges at the mouth of the box for loading into the action of the fire arm. In order to organize the ammunition within the magazine pouch and reduce time searching for a magazine, magazine pouches frequently comprise a plurality of pockets each sized to receive a single magazine.
A primary concern for transporting magazines in a magazine pouch is balancing the need for securely retaining the magazines within the pockets during movement of the individual while still presenting the magazines for easy access. Many individuals who carry firearms in professional capacities, such as law enforcement and military, often carry firearms and ammunition may have cause to engage in a variety of intensive physical movements such as running, climbing over obstacles, rolling on the ground or even grappling with another individual. Accordingly, the magazine pouch must securely retain the magazines within the pockets in spite of the movement of the wearer to avoid dislocation or losing the magazines during the movement of the wearer. A competing concern is that these individuals also often require ready access to the magazines for quick reloading of the firearm. The extra time required to perform the additional hand actions required to disengage a complex magazine retention mechanism on the pocket can mean the difference between life and death. An added concern is that the individual is often reaching for the magazine without looking at the magazine pouch to maintain their focus on the target and surroundings. A complex or small locking mechanism can be difficult to locate and operate blindly.
Accordingly, magazine pouches often simply comprise pockets sized to closely approximate the size of the box to retain the magazine with a friction fit. The pockets are often oriented such that the opening of the pocket faces upwards when the pouch is worn by the individual. This approach positions the rear end of the magazine where it can be easily gripped and pulled from the pocket. However, movement of the wearer can overcome friction fit causing the magazine to inadvertently slip from the pocket. Moreover, the upright orientation also limits the possible attachment points for the magazine pouch to the belt. Accordingly, the pockets can also often comprise a flap that can be folded over the end of the magazine or the pocket opening and secured with a releasable fastener such as a button, VELCRO or magnets. The flap improves the retention of the magazines, but adds an additional hand action of lifting the flap before gripping the magazine. Moreover, once opened, the flap can create a hindrance or distraction impeding the individual's hand as they reach for the magazine.
Another approach to securing magazines within a pocket is a flexible tab having a hooked end portion that engages the end of the magazine to retain the magazine within the pouch as disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 2008/0023509. The tab can be flexed by the individual to disengage the hooked portion from the magazine and remove the magazine. The drawback of this approach is that the individual must locate the tab and properly flex the tab to disengage the hooked portion, which can be challenging while blindly reaching for the magazine or during the pressure of a firefight or competition.
A similar approach is a magazine pouch having leaves that can be folded closed to define a pouch for receiving magazine as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,614,534. The leaves are held closed by a top flap and secure a magazine within the pocket. The top flap is lifted to release the leaves and allow the magazine to be pulled from the pouch, wherein the leaves are adapted to open when the magazine is pulled on by the individual. The drawback of the approach is that individual must first disengage the top flap before gripping the magazine to disengage the leaves and remove the magazine. The multiple hand actions required to release the magazine slows the reload time and increases the likelihood that the individual will perform the procedure incorrectly leaving the magazine secured within the pocket. Moreover, the multiple moving parts of the pouch increase the likelihood that a portion of the assembly will fail to engage or disengage leaving the magazine trapped or dropping the magazine inadvertently. The multiple moving parts may also become caught on clothing or equipment jamming the mechanisms and preventing release of the magazines.
Yet another approach is affixing or integrating a clip onto the magazine itself that can be used to directly attach the magazine to the wearer's clothing or belt as disclosed in US Patent Publication No. 2004/0200111. This approach requires that the clip be positioned at a point on the magazine that will not interfere with the loading of the magazine into the firearm. With elongated box magazines, the clips can be positioned at the end or bottom portion of the magazine that remains outside the magazine well. However, this approach is often incompatible with many pistols and other firearms in which the entire or nearly the entire magazine fits within the magazine well. Moreover, locating the disengagement mechanism of the clip can be difficult, particularly in a high stress situation such as a firefight or competition.
These prior approaches illustrate that there exists an ongoing need for a means of securely retaining magazines while still presenting the magazines to the individual in an easily accessible manner.